WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace’s volleyball team celebrated Senior Day in style with a 3-1 win over Spring Arbor on Saturday.
The No. 16 Lancers (18-5, 11-2 Crossroads League) registered their third straight win, finishing off a season sweep of the Cougars (11-11, 5-8 CL).
Grace doubled up the Cougars 8-4 to begin the first set.
Midway into the set, the Lancers’ offense continued to roar. Jadyn Ross and Anna Elkin amassed six kills in short succession.
The Lancers maintained a comfortable lead throughout and rolled to a 25-19 win. Ross and Alisha Voss had four kills apiece in the set, and Grace was efficient with 15 kills on a .200 percentage.
The second set began closely but ended in a rout. The score was even at 9-9 before Grace gained separation with a 5-1 run.
The Cougars called timeout, but Grace continued to roll. Two straight aces from Liz Schmidt and three late kills from Sahara Bee kept Grace’s momentum sizzling, and Callie Jo Celichowski ended the set with a kill as the Lancers won by 11 (25-14).
SAU was not ready to get swept, however. The Cougars won five of the first seven points in the third set and eventually led 12-6.
Grace tried to rally with an 8-3 spurt, aided by three kills from Ross. But the Cougars pulled away with a 6-3 run down the stretch to secure a 25-18 victory.
The Lancers had two more kills than SAU in the third set but committed nine attack errors to hurt their cause.
Grace began the fourth set well with a 6-2 lead after two early aces from Emma Blackford.
But the Cougars clawed back, using a 4-0 run and a 6-0 run to charge in front 16-12.
The Lancers responded calmly and tied the score at 19-19 after another ace from Schmidt. A kill from Livia Tate on the next rally gave Grace the lead for good. Riley Owens provided a timely kill and an ace, helping the Lancers secure the match with a 25-22 win.
Anna Ballengee led the team with 13 kills, and Ross added 10 kills.
Voss produced 9 kills, 1 solo block and 2 block assists, and Bee tallied nine kills with three block assists.
Elkin collected six kills, and Schmidt racked up 18 digs and three aces.
Owens (24 assists, 14 digs, 2 aces) and Morgan Syoen (16 assists, 14 digs, 3 aces) both posted double-doubles.
McKenzie Stakely and Olivia Martinez each added nine digs, and Aspen Moyer added four digs.
Grace will be on the road twice next week, playing at St. Francis on Wednesday and Bethel on Saturday.

Lancers Top Foresters, Within One Point Of First Place
WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace College’s men’s soccer team continued its surge to the top of the Crossroads League standings with a 2-0 win over Huntington on Saturday evening.
The Lancers (6-6-2, 5-2 CL) victory over the Foresters, who were previously perched atop the league table, moves Grace to within a point of first place. They trail Marian and Indiana Wesleyan with two games remaining on the regular season slate.
With just one more point in their remaining two games the Lancers would secure a top-four seed and home match in the first round of the Crossroads League Tournament.
It had been second half magic that had propelled the Lancers in this impressive late season push, but on Saturday Grace grabbed all the momentum with an early strike.
Grace scored just 12 minutes into the game, scoring on their first shot of the contest. The goal came after Maxime Bregeon crossed the ball into the box which tied up a Huntington defender and Joao Pereira took advantage of the momentary lapse and quickly sliced a shot into the net to push the Lancers ahead 1-0.
A few moments later Matteo Conci made a routine save to keep the game even before the Lancers made another push on goal.
Pereira tried for his second goal of the game but his attempt went wide, but moments later the Lancers would double their lead.
After working the ball deep into the attacking third, Grace expertly passed the ball around the perimeter of the box before Seongwhi Lee lofted a pass toward the net that Kyle Holwerda headed into the upper corner of the goal to give the Lancers the 2-0 lead with 10 minutes left in the opening half.
The Lancers had one last try on net before the half but the shot was saved, sending the game into the intermission with Grace holding a convincing 2-0 lead.
The stat sheet was nearly identical except for the score with Grace holding a narrow lead in shots (4-3) and having one corner kick while Huntington had zero.
As the second half got underway Grace and Huntington traded shots but neither squad found the back of the net.
Daniel Santos Rosa tried to add to the Lancers lead with 32 minutes remaining, but his attempt was fought off by the Huntington keeper.
As the half neared the midpoint Huntington began to control the majority of possession as they tried to chip away at the two-goal deficit.
The Foresters pepper the net with shots, trying nine attempts towards goal in the final 17 minutes of action. Grace's defense held strong though as Conci warded off every shot he faced to record his third-consecutive shutout.
The Lancers will be back in action on Saturday against Goshen. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.

Grace Blows Past Foresters
HUNTINGTON, Ind. - Grace’s women’s soccer team enjoyed a comprehensive victory at Huntington on Saturday.
The Lancers (10-3-2, 2-3-2 Crossroads League) scored a goal with four different players en route to a 4-0 win on the road.
Grace was not shy with its offense to begin the match. Early strikes from Rylee Burns and Cassidy Felger were saved, and Audrey Abel had a close-range shot saved at the goal line as well before six minutes had expired.
The Lancers continued to apply pressure on HU’s side of the field, and the pressure paid off.
In the 15th minute, Audrey Abel and Jasmin Slump connected on a give-and-go. Slump’s cross into the box was met by Cassidy Felger, who slammed her shot into the net for the game’s first goal.
Fifteen minutes later, Grace’s lead doubled. Rosalie Gefrorer and Abby Hodkin combined on an advance into the penalty box. Hodkin dribbled to the end line and laid off a pass to Gefrorer, and she snatched a left-footed effort past the goalkeeper for a 2-0 lead.
The Lancers had one more goal left before the intermission. With less than three minutes remaining in the half, Amy Wearing found Lilli Oberhoff with a pass at the top edge of the penalty box. Oberhoff used a few shifty dribbles, knifing through three defenders and slicing in her goal.
Grace strolled into halftime with a 3-0 advantage. The dominant half saw Grace own an 11-1 shot and 4-0 corner kick advantage.
The second half resulted in Grace again controlling play and owning the vast majority of possession.
The Lancers had little trouble generating chances against the Foresters. Grace took eight of the nine shots in the second half and took all five corner kicks.
Grace did tack on a fourth goal shortly before the end of the match.
With just over five minutes remaining, Burns blew past a defender on the right edge of the field. She centered a pass in front of the goal, and Katie Witte redirected the ball into the goal for her first collegiate goal for Grace.
The Foresters had no offensive response in the half as Grace’s possession and defense shut down the home team.
Ivy Cline made one save for the shutout in Grace’s goal.
The Lancers now own 10 shutouts on the season, including two in the past three matches.
The Lancers have just two matches left in the regular season. Next week Grace will travel to Goshen on Saturday. Grace will then return home on Oct. 30 for a 7 p.m. showdown with Bethel.